Barcelona will raise the tourist tax for cruise ship passengers visiting the city for short durations, typically less than 12 hours. The current tax is €7 (£6) but the exact increase hasn’t been announced yet.
The reason behind this tax increase is to manage the impact of mass tourism on the city. Mayor Jaume Collboni (Current Mayor of Barcelona, Spain) says that short-stay cruise passengers overcrowd the public spaces without offering much economic benefit.
Mr Collboni in an interview with El Pais newspaper said “We are going to propose… substantially increasing the tax for stopover cruise passengers. In the case of stopover cruise passengers (less than 12 hours), there is intensive use of public space without any benefit for the city and a feeling of occupation and saturation. We want to have tourism that is respectful of the destination.”
Like many other popular places, Barcelona has faced challenges because of many tourists. People have complained of increased housing prices and the notion that the city is becoming more tourist-centered.
Tourism in Barcelona has caused rents and house prices to increase a lot, making it hard for locals to find affordable places to live. Many property owners prefer renting to tourists because they can make more money, due to which fewer homes are left for residents.
Spain, with a population of 47 million, received a record 85.1 million international tourists last year, a 19% increase from 2022.
Recent protests in Barcelona show the frustrations of some residents. The people of Barcelona want fewer tourists because they make their lives harder. The proposed tax increase is a strategy to cope with this situation. The goal is to adjust itineraries for longer stays to generate revenue to invest in infrastructure and to lessen the tourist burden on public places.
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